Nursing Love Reflected in National Award for Rachel Moody

Rachel-MoodyRachel Moody relishes challenges and has a “true passion” for nursing.

“I love nursing,” she says.

That sentiment recently was recognized when Moody, Franciscan Alliance administrative director of critical care and infection control, received the prestigious Brenda Lyon Leadership Award during a meeting of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists at an annual conference in Philadelphia.

The award recognizes “extraordinary leadership in service to the organization” and is named for Lyon, a founding member and the group’s second president.

“I was shocked and humbled to receive the honor,” said Moody, a Chesterton resident, who has served on the association’s board of directors since 2009. “I feel honored because Brenda Lyon was a visionary, who saw that the organization needed to be there to support the role of advanced practical nurses. It also was a humbling experience to be selected by my peers and colleagues.”

Moody’s role in the local job she has had since 2013 (she has been a nurse since 1992) is to oversee critical care and infection control at Franciscan’s five Northern Indiana hospitals. She and the hospitals’ infection preventionists work as a team to coordinate efforts.

“My role is to standardize processes within nursing and critical care – to create more efficiencies and utilize the same resources and work smarter for the benefit of the patients, staff and organization,” she said.

Moody also has served as the association’s vice president and president. She has spoken to a variety of audiences about the role of the clinical nurse specialist in the changing health care landscape at national and local conferences and meetings.

On the state level, Moody serves on the Practice Committee of the Indiana Center for Nursing and was a member of a group that wrote a White Paper on reimbursement for advanced practice registered nurses in Indiana.

“Over the years, Rachel has demonstrated a deep commitment both to NACNS and to promoting the role of the clinical nurse specialist in health care,” said organization president Sharon Horner, adding, “Her skills, talent, expertise and dedication to ensuring that the CNS continues to play a central leadership role in health care are truly inspirational.”

Moody earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing at Valparaiso University and her master’s degree as a Cardiothoracic Clinical Nurse Specialist at Purdue University Calumet in Hammond. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, the Honor Society of Nursing.

Moody said she chose the health care profession because, “I need excitement and challenges and health care is always changing. I love focusing on specific areas in nursing.”